Leaking Bathtub

Last night I was startled by a dripping noise in my downstairs hallway. From on of my can lights there was water dripping. Directly above the dripping is my kids bathtub. One kid had just finished taking a bath and the tub was empty other than my other taking a shower. Of course I have no access panel to the pipes, although there is a close right behind the bathtub pipes.

The tub doesn't appear to have any cracks in it. I can't imagine that the water is going through any of the grout lines. What are the likely problems for this? I plan on looking through the can light hole to see if I see the plumming but I'm assuming that I'll need to cut a hole in the closet for access.

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Leaking Bathtub

First, I would try to tighten the drain (clockwise). Some of these drains can become loose and water will leak out.

I wouldn't enlarge the can light hole yet because even if you can see something there (by all means look) it will likely be fixed by the drain. So if the drain tightening doesn't work, I'd open the wall up first.

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Leaking Bathtub

Did your kid inadvertently overfill the tub? Sometimes the washer on the overflow is not seated correctly and no-one will notice for perhaps years until it is needed. If you think that might be it, just unscrew the trim piece and have a look. There should be a large tapered rubber washer right behind the bar that holds the trim on. Loosen the bar (two screws) reseat the washer and tighten the bar, then put the trim back. Just a possibility, but a whole lot better than repairing drywall. Rich.